Better Buckets

If you live in the Deep South, it’s not too late to plant more tomatoes so they’ll still be producing in October before we get close to the first freeze. Thing is, my garden is full, so like many people, container gardening is the way to go.

One of the best/easiest ways I’ve heard of to grow tomatoes is to use one of those orange five gallon buckets that are so inexpensive (and usually right by the front door) at Home Depot. Thing is, these are going to be pretty visible so I was trying to think of a way to make them look a little bit better with some help from acrylic paint, Mod Podge, and the gorgeous RH Shumway catalog…

1. Punch holes in the bottom of the bucket with a drill, then spraypaint the bucket all over with white primer.

2. Get craft paints ready for whatever design you’d like to use (and this step can be completely removed if you like the look of the pages you’re going to Mod Podge without any extra ornamentation). Remove pages from the newspaper or catalog and paint on your design.

3. Since this is a tomato container, I painted…a tomato.

4. Liberally apply Mod Podge (those sponge brushes that are $.20 at the craft shop are perfect) to the bucket, then lay on the pages you’re using to decoupage, then Mod Podge again all the pages, on top all over. Make sure to get those edges especially.

5. Wait for the Mod Podge to dry, then paint the top of the bucket (where all the ridges are), handle, etc. with a complementary paint color.

6. Once all the paint is dry, let it set overnight then seal the outside (while you’re outside) with the clear acrylic spray. Let that ‘cure’ for a day before using as a container.